past
gone by or elapsed in time: It was a bad time, but it's all past now.
of, having existed in, or having occurred during a time previous to the present; bygone: the past glories of the Incas.
gone by just before the present time; just passed: during the past year.
ago: six days past.
having formerly been or served as; previous; earlier: three past presidents of the club.
Grammar. designating a tense, or other verb formation or construction, that refers to events or states in time gone by.
the time gone by: He could remember events far back in the past.
the history of a person, nation, etc.: our country's glorious past.
what has existed or has happened at some earlier time: Try to forget the past, now that your troubles are over.
the events, phenomena, conditions, etc., that characterized an earlier historical period: That hat is something out of the past.
an earlier period of a person's life, career, etc., that is thought to be of a shameful or embarrassing nature: When he left prison, he put his past behind him.
Grammar. past tense.
so as to pass by or beyond; by: The troops marched past.
beyond in time; later than; after: past noon;half past six.
beyond in space or position; farther on than: the house just past the church.
in a direction so as to pass by or go beyond: We went past the house by mistake.
beyond in amount, number, etc.: past the maximum age for enlisting in the army.
beyond the reach, scope, influence, or power of: He is past hope of recovery.
Origin of past
1Words that may be confused with past
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use past in a sentence
He chooses not to create a tidy drama where characters are explained by their pasts.
On the Hunt For…: Greg Baxter’s “The Apartment” Review | Elliot Ackerman | December 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThey returned home to the rubble of the Reich and tried to bury their criminal pasts.
And soon, Adele and Frank—both of whom share dark pasts—fall deeply in love with one another.
At Telluride, Jason Reitman’s ‘Labor Day’ Is Superbly Acted | Marlow Stern | August 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTGatsby and Draper are both introduced as characters with pasts so surprising that they take great pains to keep them secret.
Don Draper and Jay Gatsby: Two Men With a Parallel and Lurid Past | Jean Trinh | April 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe curious pasts of all the victims have been dissected for clues that may lead to an answer to the complicated mystery.
Mystery of Iraqi-British Family’s Murder in the French Alps Deepens | Barbie Latza Nadeau | October 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
I'm afraid the result will be a vast host of men with promising pasts and highly uncertain futures.
Carry On | Coningsby DawsonS'lancer vers l'avenir is the longing they express: a turning away from all the pasts to speak to the future.
mile Verhaeren | Stefan ZweigWhereupon a coolness arose, and she sought to annoy him by pretended pasts.
The Salamander | Owen JohnsonRoss had patience which he had learned from the mixed heritage of his two pasts, the real and the false graft.
The Time Traders | Andre NortonBut like all persons with real pasts Mrs. Sands and her lodgers kept the veil tightly drawn.
The Great God Success | John Graham (David Graham Phillips)
British Dictionary definitions for past
/ (pɑːst) /
completed, finished, and no longer in existence: past happiness
denoting or belonging to all or a segment of the time that has elapsed at the present moment: the past history of the world
denoting a specific unit of time that immediately precedes the present one: the past month
(prenominal) denoting a person who has held and relinquished an office or position; former: a past president
grammar denoting any of various tenses of verbs that are used in describing actions, events, or states that have been begun or completed at the time of utterance: Compare aorist, imperfect (def. 4), perfect (def. 8)
the past the period of time or a segment of it that has elapsed: forget the past
the history, experience, or background of a nation, person, etc: a soldier with a distinguished past
an earlier period of someone's life, esp one that contains events kept secret or regarded as disreputable
grammar
a past tense
a verb in a past tense
at a specified or unspecified time before the present; ago: three years past
on or onwards: I greeted him but he just walked past
beyond in time: it's past midnight
beyond in place or position: the library is past the church
moving beyond; in a direction that passes: he walked past me
beyond or above the reach, limit, or scope of: his foolishness is past comprehension
beyond or above in number or amount: to count past ten
past it informal unable to perform the tasks one could do when one was younger
not put it past someone to consider someone capable of (the action specified)
Origin of past
1usage For past
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with past
In addition to the idioms beginning with past
- past master
- past one's prime
also see:
- live in (the past)
- not put something past someone
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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